Letters: Parking buildings won't solve parking problem

Parking buildings will not solve city's parking problems, a reader writes. Photo/file

Parking plan flawed

I have just read that Tauranga City Council intends to increase the cost of parking around the streets of Tauranga so that people will park in carparking buildings (News, June 19).

Good luck with that.

I like to go to the movies at the Rialto cinema. In the past month, I have been to the city mid-morning three times, all times I have gone into carparking buildings. Once you start to drive into them you have to go in because there is no way of backing out with cars behind you. Above the entrance, there is a sign saying how many parks are left.

Each time it has been under 10, I went around the buildings and apart from the leased carparks, the only other carparks were disabled parks. So I drove straight out again all three times. As I was also going shopping, I went to Bethlehem to do my shopping, easy parking, no charges, I went to the movies on a Sunday, very few shops open and even cafes closed.

No wonder the city has so many empty shops.

Wendy Galloway
Omokoroa

Working together
Our sea life is being degraded. It is great to see tangata whenua leading the conversation with the community around the need for its better care.

I hope we can all work constructively together to ensure future generations are able to enjoy rich and vibrant marine life in the Bay of Plenty.

Kate Graeme
Tauranga branch Forest & Bird
Matua

Sweeping claims
David Seymour is at it again. (News, June 19). This time he's linked to a Horizon Research Euthanasia Poll - of only 1300 people - conducted on behalf of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society NZ.

Compared to the number of written submissions made to the Parliamentary Health Select Committee in 2016, which is currently dealing with the euthanasia petition of the Hon. Maryan Street, a poll of only 1300 respondents can hardly be trusted as the basis for a sweeping claim of "75 per cent in favour of euthanasia".

For the Health Select Committee survey, it took 16,411 out of the total of 21,277, with supervised analysis, to produce the finding of 77 per cent opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Mr Seymour was also seen to be making, in my view, questionable claims last year, based on a University of Auckland research poll, where the researchers themselves warned that their poll was not beyond challenge.

Don Brebner
Otumoetai